Say whaat? Yep, you heard me right. I said Malpua. Pronounced: maal-poo-ahh. So what the heck is that? It’s a sweet Indian pancake! I really thought about calling this a “cardamom spiced banana pancake” BUT I love learning about cuisines and I figure you do too, right? Even though this is basically a cardamom spiced banana pankcake, it’s also a “banana malpua” – a popular north Indian dessert. And if you think you don’t like Indian food… this banana pancake, I mean, banana malpua, will be your gateway into loving Indian cuisine. Not only is this recipe a great way to use up ripe bananas (why is it that I always seem to have them?), it’s also gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free and nut-free (unless you top them with crushed nuts, obvi). One thing you should know is that these are made with rice flour. If you’re a regular here then you know I normally don’t use rice flour. In fact, this is only the second recipe that calls for the ingredient (here’s the first). The truth is, I’ve been using rice flour a little more lately. Why? It’s an inexpensive gluten-free grain that’s pretty allergy friendly. I know there are many of you who can’t tolerate grains but I want to offer recipe options for everyone suffering from allergies, so if I can come up with a good recipe using rice flour or another gluten-free grain, then I’ll share from time to time. I hope that’s okay. And I hope that if you’re strict paleo, you won’t hate me forever. But um, if you’re looking up a post about how to make gluten-free pancakes, then you’re probably not as strict paleo as you think you are… just sayin’ 😉 But if you are looking for a paleo pancake recipe – then you must try my Perfect Paleo Pancakes. Onto the important stuff. What’s the difference between a regular banana pancake and a banana malpua? A banana pancake is soft and fluffy. A banana malpua is soft and fluffy in the center BUT it also has crispy edges. Oh, and a banana malpua is spiced with my favorite spice of them all: cardamom. Just look at them… thin, soft, fluffy, crisp… and drizzled with maple syrup… ::swoooon::. The ONLY downside to this recipe? Each banana pancake takes 4 minutes total to cook (2 minutes per side). UGH. That’s like a minute longer than a “normal” pancake. Wow. That was such a stereotypical millennial thing to say… sorry… I will say that the time it takes to make these is 100 percent worth it. You can top these banana malpuas with whatever you want – maple syrup, whipped cream, butter, ghee, jam, crushed nuts. I love the combination of banana and walnuts – I just think they pair SO well together. But I bet pistachios would be great on top of these too. Or cashews. You basically can’t go wrong. You can make these bigger than mine – just spread the batter out and they should cook in the same amount of time. I just like making them small because they’re cuter that way. You might be like, “really, Ash? you care about your pancakes being cute?” Um, yes I totally do. Even though we should judge food by how it tastes and not by how it looks… that doesn’t really fly in the food blogging world. Because as a blogger, I absolutely need to make food look as good as it tastes, which is um a pretty hard thing to do, especially when you’re not a profesh photographer. I have no idea why I’m telling you all of this BUT… tell me, doesn’t this next picture just make you want to take a big BITE? Say yes? Unless your answer is “No… I want to take SEVERAL big bites” in which case, I love you even more. Want to try more Indian desserts? Then be sure to check out my Paleo Indian eCookbook: South Asian Persuasion! It has 100+ Paleo Indian Recipes (gulab jamun, anyone?) Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
